Saturday, August 24, 2013

Nice and good things

I am dusty from last night, run down and so very tired, but I am happy. Gracious there are a lot of excellent things about. I'm on a mission to learn it all, see it all, feel it all. However, I have the memory of a gold fish and an over-stretched brain so here is my attempt to remember and share some of the things that have made me happy in the past week.

Banjos, Muppets and Steve Martin. A sweet and simple pleasure.

Opera Australia just launched their 2014 season and they have $60 tickets for under 30s. They also are performing The King and I on my birthday(!), as well as Carmen, Madama Butterfly, La bohème and lots more throughout the year. Opera is an expensive thing for you to decide to be into so this ticket pricing is amazing. Like subsidized Krug.

I've been an admirer of Philip Glass for a while, but in that funny way that sometimes happens, Mr Glass has been popping up more often in my life lately, forcing me to pay attention. Of course that means I've fallen head over heels in love. His roiling, rolling melancholy and looping structures haunt me long after I've stopped listening. My particular favourite at the moment is the favourite of a friend, who put it on for me late one wine soaked night and it completely swept me away. Enjoy Mad Rush.

Lord I fancy Glen Hansard. Him rocking out at the end of this clip is almost too much. Hooray for bluegrass and handsome gingers and Van Morrison and beat up guitars and raw enthusiasm.

I am a sucker for a sad love story and the 1940s is my favourite thing.So it's not surprising I adore the film Brief Encounter. So when I heard that the Melbourne Festival is putting it on, I knew what I had to do. Hello Melbourne in October.

If you live in Sydney, get yourself down to Oscillate Wildly in Newtown and order the strawberry and watermelon cake. Just do it.

And finally, if you're like me and a clichéd self obsessed, Gen Y, cynic/romantic, then maybe you should go see Frances Ha.